An LSU AgCenter economist estimates that feral hogs caused more than $30 million in damages to crops on Louisiana farms in 2013, a problem that may increase around the state as the hog population grows.

Shaun Tanger of the AgCenter said much of the trouble has been localized, but with a mobile feral hog population of at least 500,000 in Louisiana, hogs can cause damage in most parts of the state. Worse, the hogs are capable of rapid breeding — females can bear up to two litters a year of four to eight — which makes it difficult to control the population.

Tanger said sugarcane farmers reported about $500,000 in damages in 2013.

Although farmers in Lafayette and surrounding parishes did not report heavy damages from wild hogs, they are present across parts of Acadiana.

Steven Linscombe, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Center in Crowley, said he has found evidence of feral hogs in a northern section of the property, near woodlands and a bayou, and has trapped juvenile hogs.

“It’s not widespread,” Linscombe said. “But if you get a herd they can destroy two or three acres of rice.” Total that up around the state, he said, and $5 million in rice damage sounds reasonable.

Glen Gentry at the LSU AgCenter in Clinton said the Spanish introduced hogs to North America. Hogs escaped captivity and now move in what are called “sounders,” typically two female hogs and their piglets. Boars, he said, are more solitary. Females grow to 180-215 pounds, but boars can grow to 300 to 500 pounds.

He said hogs are nomadic. They’ll move to find new food sources and generally travel along waterways.

They are not usually aggressive toward humans unless they are cornered. When cornered, Gentry said, “They are not fearful.”

He also said they are savvy, intelligent animals. “They learn pretty quick,” he said, and if they can escape or elude capture, they can become more difficult to recapture.

He said the wild hog population cannot be easily controlled or managed. In Louisiana, hot spots for wild hogs are in the northeastern and south central part of the state. Because of their rapid breeding, the state needs to capture, kill or trap 70 percent of the population to hold their numbers even.

Gentry said the state encourages hunting wild hogs, which are edible if cooked thoroughly.